A terminal block assembly is provided that includes at least one terminal having at one end insulation-piercing knife means for connection with the internal conductor of an insulated conductor, and including at its outer end lateral connection means spaced from said knife means, said lateral connection means including a lateral male connector extending laterally from the terminal block body for connection with the corresponding terminal of an adjacent second terminal block assembly, and female connecting jack means arranged for connection with the lateral male connector of a third terminal block assembly arranged on the opposite side of said terminal block from said second terminal block assembly.
Brief Description of the Prior Art
Terminal block assemblies including insulation-piercing knife means are well known in the prior art, as shown by the German patent No. DE 19732182 C1, and U.S. patents to Goertner, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,315, and Lux U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,804, among others. Such terminal blocks and connection devices permit the contacting of the conductors by way of the so-called IDC technique where cutters of the connection device cut through the insulation of the conductor, whereupon the contacting of the line leads takes place in a contacting area. Removing the insulation of the conductor with a special tool is no longer required.
It is also known in the prior art to provide electrical connections between a plurality of terminal blocks mounted in a stacked side-by-side relation on a common support rail, as evidenced by the prior patents to Eggert, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,079, and Hanning, et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,651,702 and 5,759,071, among others.
There is a need for electrical distribution between several terminals, especially in the area of initiator/actor terminals. The object of the invention therefore is so to develop a terminal block of the typical kind and the connection device of the typical kind that an electrical distribution over several terminal blocks mounted on a common support rail can be accomplished without any problems and in a relatively simple manner.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a first terminal block assembly including at least one electrical terminal having at one end a stationary contact including insulation-piercing knife means, and means spaced from said knife means for electrically connecting said terminal with the corresponding terminal of a second terminal block assembly mounted on the same mounting rail as the first terminal block assembly.
According to a more specific object of the invention, the electrical terminal is provided at one end with first connector means including inwardly directed insulation-piercing knife means, and at the other end with second connection means including a laterally extending male connector, and a female jack connector. This affords the special advantage that by virtue of the design of the terminal at one of whose ends the cutting connection and at whose other end connected therewith in one piece the lateral connecting means is thus designed in a constructively simple manner. Preferably, the lateral connecting means is made at low cost and in a functionally reliable manner according to the kind shown in European Patent No. EP 0 634 813 B1.
Preferably, the male connector and the female jack connector are aligned normal to the main extension plane of the terminal block; i.e., parallel to the direction of the common support rail.
In a particularly preferred manner, the terminal block body is formed from synthetic plastic insulating means and contains recesses that receive the male connector and female jack connector, respectively. A separate housing for the cross-connectors, as proposed in European Patent No. EP 0 634 813 B1 according to which the lateral connecting means in each case have separate housings and initially are stuck together to form strips which are then inserted into the terminal housings as unit, can in this manner be omitted.
According to another particularly preferred modification, a protective ledge for the male connector is formed from the insulation material housing in the direction of the carrying rail or normal to the main extent plane of the terminal block, which ledge protects the male connector against damage by an improperly aligned activation tool (typically a screwdriver).
In a practical manner, the electrical terminal is provided with additional functional areas integrated into it.
According to one particular modification, the male contact, made angled into itself, is molded upon the connecting sheet metal piece; this male contact has a soldering opening for connection with an electrical component. Alternatively, a soldering pin or a jack or plug contact can be molded upon the connecting sheet metal piece. With the help of these functional areas, the connection device, for example, can be connected/combined with electronic components or with printed circuit boards or similar devices.
It is now possible to shape the entire cutting rail at low cost as an integral punch/bending part from a single metal sheet.